Jeff Staple

Jeff Staple is clearly a man who likes to be in charge. And with the demands of a clothing line, his bustling Staple Design agency, and his New York– and Tokyo-based Reed Space retail/gallery locations, one would imagine Jeff Staple, aka Jeff Ng, is consumed with the dry demands of self-employment. For the young designer, however, business is not always the antithesis of pleasure: “I know it sounds a lot more like a business than an artistic background…but to me, there is an art form in creating a brand.” While attending Parsons in New York for communications design, a casual t-shirt screenprinting project made the leap from friends-only distribution to serious fashion company, and the design agency wasn’t far behind. Staple Design has amassed a client roster that would bring a tear to any sneakerhead’s eye. Puma, Nike, Royal Elastics, and Timberland are only a few of those who’ve approached Staple, not to mention the vast editorial credits [Anthem Magazine, The Fader], multiple record sleeves [Gang Starr, Common], fashion brands [Dolce & Gabbana, Levi’s, Original Penguin], corporate identity projects, and websites. As one of the masterminds behind A Nice Set, Staple reveals a music consciousness inseparable from his design aesthetic: “Music is the seed for my creation. It lives under the surface. The tree and leaves are the artwork itself – what people see. But music is what makes it all happen.” Considering he told us the snow camo motif he used for his slipmat contribution represents “the idea of hidden messages/hidden agendas,” and his experience as a DJ boils down to the addictive quality of crowd control, we’re wondering if world domination via catchy hooks and clever advertising isn’t far behind. Or perhaps it’s already happened…